Robert Lowery (born Robert Lowery Hanks, October 17, 1913 – December 26, 1971) was an American

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and stage

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

who appeared in more than 70 films.

Early life

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, Lowery grew up on Wayne Avenue near the long-demolished Electric Park. Lowery's father was a local attorney and oil investor who worked several years for the Pullman Corporation as a railroad agent; his mother, Leah Thompson Hanks, was a concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. Syndicated newspaper columnist

Harrison Carroll Harrison Carroll (23 June 1901 – 1972) was a Hollywood gossip columnist who worked at the ''Los Angeles Herald-Express,'' and whom John Wayne credited with being not only a mentor to him but helping him come up with a moniker to replace his bi ...

reported that Lowery was "a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks" (Lincoln). He graduated from

Paseo High School Paseo Academy, also referred to as Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and sometimes Paseo High School, is a magnet performing arts high school located at 4747 Flora Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City Public Schoo ...

in Kansas City, and soon was invited to sing with the Slats Randall Orchestra in the early 1930s. Lowery played on the Kansas City Blues minor league baseball team and was overall considered a versatile athlete; his physique and strength were gained from a stint working in a paper factory as a teenager. After the death of his father in 1935, he traveled to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

with his mother and their housekeeper, and enrolled in the Lila Bliss acting school before being signed by

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1937.

Career

Maureen O'Hara-Robert Lowery in McLintock!

Lowery debuted in motion pictures in '' Come and Get It'' (1936). During his career, Lowery was primarily known for roles in action films such as '' The Mark of Zorro'' (1940), '' The Mummy's Ghost'' (1944), and ''

Dangerous Passage ''Dangerous Passage'' is a 1944 American film noir drama film directed by William Berke, starring Robert Lowery and Phyllis Brooks. Plot summary Oil company employee Joe Beck ( Robert Lowery) is stationed in the jungle in Honduras. When his g ...

'' (1944). He became the second actor to play

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

(succeeding Lewis Wilson), starring in a 1949's '' Batman and Robin'' serial. Lowery also had roles in a number of Western films, including ''The Homesteaders'' (1953), ''The Parson and the Outlaw'' (1957), playing Gangster-mastermind

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletic ...

in '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (1960), ''Young Guns of Texas'' (1962), and ''Johnny Reno'' (1966). He was also a stage actor and appeared in '' Born Yesterday'', '' The Caine Mutiny'', and in several other productions. On television, Lowery was best known for the role of Big Tim Champion on the series ''

Circus Boy ''Circus Boy'' was an American adventure family western that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1957. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960. Summary Set in the late 1890s, the title of the ser ...

'' (1956–1957). In 1956, he guest starred in "The Deadly Rock," an episode of '' The Adventures of Superman'' (which was the first time a Batman actor shared screen time with a Superman actor, although Lowery and Reeves had appeared together in their presuperhero days in the 1942 World War II anti-VD propaganda film, ''

Sex Hygiene ''Sex Hygiene'' is a 1942 American drama film short directed by John Ford and Otto Brower. The official U.S. military training film is in the instructional social guidance film genre, offering adolescent and adult behavioural advice, medical inf ...

.'') Lowery also had guest roles on '' Perry Mason'', featured as murder victim Amos Bryant in "The Case of the Roving River" and as Andrew Collis in "The Case of the Provocative Protégé", ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'' ("The Helen Morgan Story"), ''

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

'', '' Cowboy G-Men'', as Foxy Smith on ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bure ...

'' in the 1959 episode "

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

" starring James Garner with Joel Grey as

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

, ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded t ...

'', '' Rawhide'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele ( Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian partner, Tom Lopaka ( Robert ...

'', and ''

Pistols 'n' Petticoats ''Pistols 'n' Petticoats'' is an American Western sitcom starring Ann Sheridan that ran on CBS during the 1966-1967 television season. It was produced by Kayro/Universal Television for CBS Productions and ran from September 17, 1966 to March 11 ...

''. He made his last on-screen appearance in the 1967 comedy/Western film '' The Ballad of Josie'', opposite

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

and Peter Graves.

Personal life and death

He was married three times, to three actresses.

Jean Parker Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of Montana, indigent during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She ...

and he had a son, Robert Lowery Hanks II, in 1952. His other wives were Vivan Wilcox and Barbara "Rusty" Farrell, whom he married on March 21, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although a divorce action was filed in his last marriage to Parker, it was never finalized. Lowery died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

at the age of 58 in his

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

apartment on December 26, 1971.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Robert Lowery and Jean Parker in ''The Navy Way'' from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Robert 1913 births 1971 deaths Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Male Western (genre) film actors 20th-century American male actors